Human Perspective
by Hakkari
Summary: When GLaDOS shows up at her door in android form, Chell decides to allow the homicidal AI into her home until she can be properly returned to her body. This would probably be Chell's worst decision yet. Chell/GLaDOS. R&R.
1. Hello Again

She wasn't sure why she wasn't more shocked when the white-haired woman appeared at her door, shouting that it was her fault that she was 'like this'. The rational thing to do, when faced with such a dilemma, would have been to call the cops. Chell, however, had let the obviously angry woman into her house, offered her a seat on the couch, and given her a cup of coffee.

They were both still sitting on the couch now, Chell drumming her fingers on her writing board as the woman (was she even a woman, or would android be the right term?) continued to sip her coffee, still seething with anger. Her yellow eyes would often flicker depending on the level of her frustration - the more annoyed she was the less pupil that would show - and right now the pupils were fully visible. She had calmed. Chell picked up her board and began to scribble on it, much to the android's curiosity. _**What are you doing here?**_ At this she scowled, setting the coffee cup down on the table before struggling to untangle her fingers from the handle.

"Remember when you put that moron in charge of _my_ facility?" Chell hid her amusement at the possessive way that GLaDOS described Aperture. "Well, he must have activated something, because two months and three days after I had let you go, I was shut down. When I managed to... boot myself up, I was like this. I would have been here sooner, if I had been better at using _these_ useless things." She motioned at her legs and made a face at them. Chell chuckled, earning her a death glare from GLaDOS.

_**That still doesn't explain why you're here and not at Aperture. Surely there's a way to reverse the effects there, right? **_As she showed the android her writings, she flinched away, absently beginning to drum her fingers - the ones on her right hand were metal and clawed, much like the rest of the same arm - on her lap. Her silence allowed Chell to truly look at what at once been her mortal enemy. After a few moments of relaxed studying, GLaDOS seemed to notice that the human was staring. She tensed.

"I wasn't the one who designed this body, so don't give me _that _look. It was probably some perverted scientist with a metal arm fetish. If one even exists. Which it does, because I've seen it before." Well, at least that made sense. Chell would have called her on lying except for her rather rushed tone and the fact that her body looked more like something out of a Barbie doll factory than an actual human. Her bust and waist formed a perfect hourglass shape, and her hair, though white and a bit messy, was curled and styled to perfectly enhance her face's bone structure.

In all honesty, the android was very pretty. Not that Chell would admit that or anything. It was good that she couldn't talk, otherwise she might've just blurted out all of her thoughts. Obviously her face was showing what was going through her mind, because GLaDOS was looking back at her oddly, the single visible yellow eyes looking blankly at her. "You know when I said that I had seen the metal arm fetish, I didn't mean that I had actually _seen_ it, right? I found it on my databases," She looked disgusted, fingers curling into her black pants, "Humans are disgusting."

_**You are one now, you know. **_At GLaDOS's skeptic glare, Chell quickly amended her sentence, _**Technically.**_ The android looked a bit more satisfied, then realized what the former test subject meant and grew angry. Her pupil all but disappeared in a flash of rage before returning to full size. Her facial expressions never really changed, Chell realized. As when she was a massive AI, her eye was the part of her face that needed to be watched. Though her body language was rather revealing, as well.

"You don't need to rub it in. You already murdered me once, tried to murder me twice, no need to hurt my feelings. Then again, you don't really _care_, do you?" Chell rolled her eyes, ready for a stream of insults. She was not disappointed. "After all, you're just some _heartless monster_. A heartless monster that seems to be celebrating her freedom in the all-you-can-eat buffet down the street." Admittedly, it wasn't as bad as Chell had been expecting. It was a bit suspicious, really.

_**What do you want?**_ Her thoughts were confirmed as the android's eyes shifted back and forth nervously. It was kind of cute, if a homicidal AI could be considered the word.

"I need a place to stay until I can figure out how to reverse this. I would stay in Aperture, but it's not exactly, well, _safe_ for anything vaguely humanoid in shape. So if we could put our differences behind us... you murdering me, me saving you, you destroying my facility, me helping you every step of the way..." Chell silenced her with an annoyed grimace, and the AI looked down again, nervous. The human frowned, considering. If it had been a year ago, when she had first been released from Aperture, she would have refused outright.

Now, however, it was different. Despite GLaDOS obviously trying to guilt trip her, she was correct; the AI had saved Chell from dying in outer space. It would be the least she could do to let her stay in her home for a bit until she got her core transfer... thing dealt with. With a sigh, she scribbled her answer on her board.

_**Fine, you can stay. The guest room is down the hall, second door on the right. You're not allowed to touch anything that could be used as a weapon and at the first sign of **__**any**__** homicidal thoughts, you're out of here. Got it?**_ The AI nodded, her eye flickering in dark amusement at the second-to-final line. _**Then you can go. **_GLaDOS rose from the couch, leaving her cup neatly on a coaster before bowing her head.

"Thanks for this. Really, I won't make you regret it." She quickly headed down the hall towards her temporary room, leaving Chell alone with her thoughts. So far that day she had allowed an AI that admitted that she was a liar and homicidal to stay in her house.

_What the hell did I just get myself into?_

**A/N: Another Chell/GLaDOS fic, because the world really does need more of them =P I don't really have much to say, honestly. I just hope you all enjoy this story. It probably won't be too many chapters long, maybe four or five.**

**The GLaDOS design is by me, unless someone came up with it before me. I don't actually know if there is a metal arm fetish. I really don't want to know, either xD; **

**So yeah, review and you save a turret from death by discouragement beam. Remember; they don't blame you :D**


	2. Disaster

When GLaDOS awoke, refreshed after a night of sleep (or at least sleep mode; she wasn't exactly sure what it could be considered), she was greeted by Chell dumping something onto her bed. She scrambled up, experimentally poking the pile before glancing up at the mute. It was a soft pile, made up of multiple objects... clothing? "Are these for me?" Chell merely nodded, "Where did you get these from?" She shook her head, dropping the basket that had been carrying the clothing and waving around empty hands.

It took the android a second to get what the human was trying to convey. "Oh. You don't have your board." Chell nodded again, motioning with her hand for GLaDOS to change her clothing. She glanced down, noting the grass stains that coated the lab scrubs, and sighed. The clothing that Chell had so unceremoniously dumped onto her bed was full of either bright colors or duller versions of those bright colors. Timidly she grabbed a light pink blouse before dropping it, disgusted. Didn't humans wear black and white anymore?

Chell hadn't missed her reaction, choosing to only roll her eyes before leaving the room and shutting the door just hard enough to let her frustration show. GLaDOS only scowled, grabbing the aforementioned pink shirt and a pair of dress pants (at least _those _were black). After quickly pulling them on and giving only a moment to attempt to fix her hair she stomped out after her former test subject. "You know, you don't have to be- Oh. Hello."

The elderly woman chuckled slightly at GLaDOS's reaction, and Chell only rolled her eyes again. "Hello there. You're Glah-daws, am I pronouncing it right, dear?" She only nodded, flinching slightly at how long the woman made her name, "Well then, Glados, I'm glad I got your name right. My name is Sherry Goldi. I live next door to Chell. She came over this morning to ask for some clothing for her new housemate... you, I suppose? Those clothes used to belong to my daughter. I'm glad someone is wearing them again." She smiled, though it was tinged with sadness.

"What happened to her?" She couldn't stop herself from asking, despite Chell's warning look. Sherry only shook her head slightly, her smile and the shine of her eyes fading quickly.

"She was killed in a Combine raid. It was near the end of their reign, too. We thought we were free. She decided to attempt to come back home and find me so that we could celebrate when the Resistance finally took them down... She never made it here. Her body was found shortly after the Combine were expelled from Earth along with several others. I-" Chell gently touched the woman's shoulder, glaring at a very confused GLaDOS.

_**Maybe you should go home. Thank you very much for your help. I'll see you tomorrow after work.**_ Sherry only nodded slowly, rising from the chair before heading towards the door.

"Yes... I'll see you tomorrow Chell. Have a lovely day." As soon as the door shut behind her, Chell whipped her head back towards GLaDOS, anger seething in her eyes.

_**Why the hell would you do that?**_ The words were angrily scribbled onto the pad and forced into the android's face.

"Do what? Ask what happened to her daughter? Isn't that what humans usually do in order to become friendly with each other?" Chell only sighed, shaking her head. The AI's lack of understanding humans was astounding. It was like when she had promised her a party after trying to burn her alive; no sane human would willingly go into the 'party escort position' after that. And yet she had continually attempted to get her to surrender, offering her cake and claiming that there would be none left if she didn't hurry.

_**It's best not to ask about someone's family unless they mention that they're alright. The Uprising left a lot of people dead and a lot of families split up. It's only been three years since the Resistance pushed them off of Earth, so the sores are still fresh. I suppose I have to thank you for saving me from that, though I know you didn't mean to. **_GLaDOS frowned, tilting her head, her eye flickering in confusion.

"What are the Combine? How long was I shut down? Did Black Mesa have anything to do with this? I'm sure they did. They can't get anything right unless it comes from _our_ technology." Chell chuckled slightly. She sounded just like Cave Johnson. And she was partially right, as well.

_**The Combine was a group of aliens, as far as I know. They took over the world in seven hours, apparently. I was in stasis - and you were shut down - for about twenty, thirty years? And I guess you can put some of the blame on Black Mesa. They were the ones who attracted the Combine to Earth, apparently. I can't give you all the details; when I came out of Aperture, I was just as clueless as you are now. Don't go around asking people about it, though. It's a rather sore spot to everyone.**_

GLaDOS nodded, a little smirk playing on her face after noting Black Mesa's involvement. "Fine. I won't mention it, since humans are so fragile. As polite as that woman was - much different than you, by the way - these clothes are a bit, well, _gaudy_. Doesn't anyone wear black and white or, I don't know, something _professional_?" Chell sighed.

_**We'll get you some clothes later, alright? I think those are a little bit too tight, anyway. **_She tugged lightly at the bottom of the pink shirt, trying to pull it down before accidently brushing against the android's skin. It was surprisingly warm, like a human's. Chell wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but nothing..._ human_. Maybe cold and metallic, like she had once been. The fingers lingered, and GLaDOS gave her an odd look.

"What are you doing? Seriously, I know I'm skinnier than you, but there's no need to feel my stomach." Chell snatched her fingers away, rolling her eyes yet again. "You do that a lot, you know. Maybe your eyes will just roll right out of your sockets. That would be funny. Haha."

_**Go get ready. We'll go to the mall after lunch.**_ Her expression must have been extremely sad looking, because GLaDOS didn't even make a remark about her weight and lunch. She just walked back to her room, leaving Chell with her thoughts.

Perhaps she did owe GLaDOS a bit more than she thought she did. It was because of her that she had survived through the Uprising, even if it wasn't on purpose. She would be nicer to her former enemy if the android was nicer to her. Even as a potato she had been rather rude. _I suppose there are some things you just can't change..._

**A/N: And guess what happened in this chapter? Absolutely nothing! Well, at least we got a bit of background information out of the way. I haven't played Half-Life or Half-Life 2 in years, so I don't really remember much xD; I used the wiki for help, so if something is wrong feel free to correct me. The whole Combine thing probably won't come up very often after this, if at all. This basically just existed to help set up what happened during Chell's stasis.**

**Anyway, save a turret from redemption and review, if you want ^_^**


	3. Freeman

The trip to the mall became very annoying very quickly. Driving to the mall had been... eventful... in Chell's eyes, as GLaDOS tried to take the wheel or reach over Chell's leg in order to press the pedals. It was lucky that the roads were basically empty on Monday midmornings, because the little car was swerving all over the road as the two fought for control. Eventually GLaDOS surrendered, sniffing in annoyance and refusing to speak for the rest of the ride.

That worked fine for Chell. Driving was hard enough without a rambing AI talking the entire trip.

When they finally reached their destination, GLaDOS had been shellshocked by the size of the building. "Humans build places like _this_ just to sell clothing? How wasteful. It should be used for science, or something that actually furthers the world." Though Chell had only twitched a brow at that, she couldn't help but secretly agree. She understood the concept of a mall, but she didn't understand why it was so popular. Surely smaller stores would have sufficed, instead of one large complex?

Or perhaps the white walls of the interior - something that GLaDOS approved of as soon as they entered - reminded her too much of Aperture before she had killed GLaDOS. Then again, all large buildings with any sort of white and black walls had that issue. When Mrs. Goldi had first brought her to the mall, she had been extremely paranoid of the security cameras that lurked behind every corner. She had taken rather instinctively to hiding behind potted plants and fountains like some small child playing hide-and-seek. As time passed, though, she had grown more comfortable, albeit still wary. She could never trust cameras again.

_**Here. This should be a bit to your tastes. We have a budget, though; $300. Keep that in mind while you're shopping.**_ Of course, this was an AI built by a company that had purchased seven million dollars worth of moon rocks on a budget of seven dollars. She doubted that GLaDOS would even keep money in mind while looking at clothing. The android bumbled around a bit, having a few issues with hangers and clothing racks, cursing whenever she accidently knocked clothing off of their places. She did, however, have a knowledge of human decency and opted to try on clothing in the changing rooms. It was a bit more than Chell had expected, to be completely honest.

_At least she's not Wheatley,_ the woman mused, slowly looking at clothing she knew she'd never wear. It reminded her too much of the clothing she had seen in the oldest parts of Aperture; stiff and strictly professional. It fit GLaDOS perfectly, however, and she didn't begrudge that of the store. The android finally emerged from the fitting rooms, leaving a small stack of clothing on the discard table before nodding at Chell. _**Did you find what you wanted?**_

"Yes. Look, I even kept it under what you said to keep it under. Two hundred ninty-nine dollars. Haha." She sounded so triumphant at keeping true to a budget that Chell didn't bother to mention sales tax. Although it would have been slightly amusing and more than a bit satisfying to see the AI's ego taken down a notch, she didn't want to spoil the one victory she had gained since becoming an android. Besides, she had been on good behavior since her arrival the day before. It was longer than Chell had expected, really.

The two checked out, Chell paying for the bill before the cashier could say how much the clothing _truly_ cost, before heading back out into the main body of the mall. A statue in the center of the central hub caught GLaDOS's attention, her yellow eye widening in curiosity. "Who's that?"

_**Gordon Freeman. He was one of the leaders of the Resistance against the Combine, apparently. The mall's named after him. **_The android walked closer towards the statue, admiring the craftsmanship with open eyes. There was a vast amount of detail in everything except the face, which was vaguely carved into what seemed to be a squarish head with eyes framed with thick glasses. A small beard could also be seen, but everything else was left rather undefined.

"What happened to him...?" Chell shrugged.

_**I can honestly say I have no idea. He used to work for Black Mesa, I think some people said.**_ Whatever admiration GLaDOS held vanished at the mention of the rival company.

"Well if he couldn't keep himself alive, then I suppose he failed. Can we move on?" Chell chuckled before nodding. For such an advanced program, GLaDOS often acted like a teenager who had recently broken up with her boyfriend. It was both amusing and sad at the same time, really.

They settled down with their food, both staring awkwardly at each other as they slowly began to eat. Finally, bored with the silence, Chell began to write on her board. _**So how exactly is it that Aperture isn't exploding at the moment? **_GLaDOS sighed, rolled her eyes, and put down her sandwhich.

"I altered ATLAS - the blue bot you saw - to only have two functions; to keep the test chambers running and to keep the facility from exploding. It wasn't as easy as if I had just plugged him into the mainframe and altered him while I was still in my core, but I got it done anyway, so it doesn't really matter all that much. He won't go rogue like the moron did, because he doesn't have the function to do so." Chell nodded, mulling over this new information.

_**Do you have any idea of what could have caused you to transfer cores? Wouldn't you need a stalemate associate or something? **_For a second there was a flash of panic and guilt in the AI's eye. Within the same second she also recovered, straightening her shirt before addressing Chell again.

"You would think that, wouldn't you? But no, no stalemate associate was needed, no matter how many times I screamed no at the announcer." There was something off about that sentence, how she spoke it. It had been reduced to a dull monotone, like the one she had used before Chell had incinerated the morality core. It sounded a lot like defeat, and her body seemed to react to that.

_**So you don't know what caused it? Surely you have something in your memory that could tell you what triggered the event.**_ GLaDOS only shrugged, her mood soured for the rest of the day. Chell shook her head. _**You know you came to me for help, right? **_

"I came so I could have a place to stay that wouldn't try and kill me. At no point did I ask for your help. So just drop the subject and eat your food. It's not like a bit more weight could do you any harm." Chell sighed, obeying reluctantly. She could only hope that the AI's mood improved the next day.

**A/N: **

***Warning: Long author's note with a bit of a rant in it. Watch your step.***

**I'm going to be honest, this is why I don't do chapter stories. I suck at pacing and I'm perfectly aware of that. **

**I decided to set the story about ~30 years after Portal because a) nothing seemed to be decaying in the facility and b) it allows for more interaction with the Half Life world. Someone asked about the setting so I decided to write a bit about it. **

**This story will probably not be a masterpiece, it's an experiment. I do take all reviews into mind when I write, so more will be happening in chapters after the second one. I'm deciding to branch out from one-shots, so help along the way would be appreciated. Because of this, chapters will be up and down in quality until I can get up on stable ground with this. If you want to read something of at least decent quality that's still ChellGLaDOS, I wrote a oneshot that can be found on my profile called **_**The Touch**_. **There are also a good handful (though there should be more; people need to write more ChellGLaDOS!) of awesome ones here on FFnet. **

**This isn't an attack, merely an address. So people leaving angry notes about how much this story sucks? You can continue, but unless it says something more constructive than 'OMFGDISSUX!' **_**(that was seriously a message I got, by the way)**_** then I will just ignore it. **

**Also, anyone bashing ChellGLaDOS and telling me to switch ships to Chelley? I ignore that, too. Not to be rude, but we're both shipping a human and an AI. Even if I don't agree with the choice of AI you ship, I don't disrespect you. We have a lot more in common then you think. So please extend the same courtesy to me as well.**

**Sorry for this wall of text, but the angry PMs were grating on my nerves. I will continue, though, because I enjoy writing and sharing it with people. Again, I do take constructive criticism, and it's very much appreciated, but wording it angrily is a bit much.**


	4. The Coffee House

"Where are you going?" GLaDOS was dressed in her newest attire, a nice white dress shirt and another pair of black pants. Her hair was finally fixed, tied back into a tight ponytail. She sat down at her place at the table, gratefully taking the plate of scrambled eggs that Chell had prepared for her. The woman looked like she was in a rush to get out of the house as quickly as possible, but still quickly wrote an explanation on her pad.

_**Work. I'm a chef at the Coffee House. **_GLaDOS quirked her eyebrow, and Chell sighed loudly. _**It's a small restaurant near the mall. **_She nodded, scooping the eggs onto her fork before clumsily depositing them in her mouth. _**I'll be gone all day, okay? There's food in the fridge that doesn't even need to be heated. Don't destroy anything, alright? **_The android rolled her eyes.

"I think that you underestimate my abilities."

_**That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Look, if you need anything, just go next door to Mrs. Goldi. She's the lady from yesterday, remember? She'll help you, and if it's really bad, she can bring you to me. Maybe I should just ask her to come over and watch you...**_ Chell pondered this, tapping the marker on her lower lip and purposely ignoring GLaDOS's insulted expression.

"I really, _really_ don't think I need a babysitter. That would just be an accident waiting to happen. And not to me, by the way. I don't die." She didn't actually know if this was true or not anymore. Still, it seemed to at least have an effect on Chell. She sighed, glaring at the android before heading towards the door again.

_**Fine. I won't call her, but you better behave. Got it?**_ GLaDOS only waved her out the door, and she sighed. She was fairly certain that by the time she got home, the place would be transformed into some psuedo-science lab. Frustrated, she got in her car, fearing that she had just made a horrible mistake.

**A P E R T U R E S C I E N C E**

Chell leaving the house gave GLaDOS a chance to mull over what had recently happened. She still had no clue about how to go about changing back into her main body, and that was frustrating by itself. More recently, however, she had found herself becoming... _attracted_ to _her_. She brushed it off as the hormones that buzzed through the android's basically human body. It was still a major distraction, though, and when Chell had touched her stomach so tenderly...

It felt _good._ So good. That feeling _horrified_ her. It wasn't right at all. She didn't have any feelings beyond neutrality for the human. Love was a foreign concept to her, never having felt it as an AI, but she was fairly confident that what she was_ infected _with wasn't that. Perhaps it was lust? It seemed to fit the description that she had once found a lot better than love.

Either way, it was a feeling that was distracting her from her main goal. It had to be eliminated, but she couldn't get rid of it. Oh, she had _tried_, but nothing was working. At all.

She sighed, returning to her room and pulling a notebook from under her bed. Several equations and database commands were etched inside, many of which were crossed out. None of them, so far, seemed to be able to work. Half of the ones she tried merely fried her brain for a few moments, leaving her shut down until her emergency systems managed to boot her back up. Trying to find the correct core transfer command was becoming a tedious and painful process.

Perhaps she shouldn't have denied the human's offer of assistance. She was smart enough; after all, she had managed to murder her in cold blood. But there was that problem of the _virus _that had spread through her system. She didn't want to grow close to the woman, especially if it made her body go haywire. So she continued to work alone, scribbling in about fifty codes before beginning to try them. After five, the world went black.

_Initiating the Aperture Science Emergency AI Reboot Procedure. Time estimated; five minutes._

**A P E R T U R E S C I E N C E**

"Good mornin', Chell. Everything alright at home?" She smiled brightly at her boss, nodding happily. He grinned back at her. "Well that's good, then. We missed you, yesterday! Poor Albert couldn't keep up with all the orders. Then again, the poor boy could only really make our soups, eh? Why don't you go back there and show him how it's done." He winked at her as she stepped into the kitchen. Her young assistant was looking flustered, orders flung everywhere as he scrambled to fill them. The waitress Anna was sitting there, tapping her foot impatiently before noticing Chell enter the room. Her eyes brightened.

"Hey, Chell! Thank goodness _you're_ here! Albert can't cook for beans." Albert turned, looking comically insulted. He waved his arms in the air dramatically before stepping to the side and allowing Chell to take her place. As she gathered up all the orders, he addressed her.

"Oh, I'm not that bad, right Chell?" She didn't even bother writing on her board, allowing her silence to answer his question. Anne burst into laughter. "It's not funny, sis! Chell, I can't believe you just betrayed me like that!" Though he sounded sad, a glance at his grinning face told the former test subject otherwise.

"Oh, go back and wash the dishes. Chell's got it handled." She shooed her twin away towards the other side of the kitchen before scooting her stool closer to Chell. "You look rather happy today. You find someone special? Ah! You're blushing. I called it! Who is it? Do you have a picture?" Chell only laughed at her coworker's enthusiasm.

_**No, no one special. Just an old friend, I guess. **_Anne rolled her eyes, placing her hands on Chell's shoulders and wrenching her forward.

"Is your friend hot? Cause honey, you need _someone_ in your life. Boy or girl, doesn't matter to me your orientation. And I'm positive that once you work your silent charm on your friend, it won't matter to them, either. So where are they staying?" She let go of the chef, allowing her to continue chopping the onions that Albert had left mangled.

When she finished the first onion, she wiped her hands and wrote down her answers. _**She. My friend is a she. Her name is Glados. She's not from around here, really. And she's staying at my house.**_ Anne took a moment to try and pronounce GLaDOS's name before flicking her light green eyes towards Chell's gray ones.

"Well, then, make her gay for you. She's already staying at your house; it's not that big of a step to take!" Chell had been tasting the onions when she spoke, and she literally spit them out at Anne's words.

_**Um, I don't think she swings that way anyway. Besides we have a lot of history. Not all of it is good. Besides, I don't feel that way about her. **_Anne only rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please, yeah you do. You can make it work. You're too stubborn to give something up; it's one of your best qualities. Show that Glados what you're made of." Chell only chuckled, remembering GLaDOS's final words to her before she had set her loose in the world. _Dangerous, mute lunatic._

_**She already knows how stubborn I am. I really don't think she needs reminding of that.**_ Anne only arched her brow, taking the plate of salad that Chell handed her. It had been mostly done - and not looking too bad, honestly - when Albert had been in charge.

"Right, well then you don't have a problem. Just don't give up until she falls for you. Hey, table four asked for a small chicken tender plate with fries, just to let you know. Albert kind of crumpled and lost that one." She winked, wiggling before departing from the kitchen. Chell sighed, only continuing to chop her onions. It was amazing. Even at work, the AI seemed to make everything a lot more difficult than it needed to be. Cooking, at least, took her mind off of her problems.

It was the same day that she broke her record for how many dishes she could get done before lunchtime.

**A/N: What's this? Progress, sort of? =o**

**Anyway, Anne is a bit... outspoken xD; She probably won't be seen in many chapters, but she and Chell are pretty close as far as co-workers go. Albert's sort of the same, though the twins tend to bicker quite a bit.**

**I don't know if I'll be updating over the weekend, due to the fact that I may or may not have internet since my family's going on vacation. If I can't, I'll see you all next week ^_^**

**Reviews save turrets; just remember that!**


	5. Suspicious

"We should go shopping tomorrow! Oh, I know; invite Glados along and we could go and see a movie. I'll bring Albert so that if you two want to get cozy..." Anne winked, nudging her elbow against Chell's side as she locked up the Coffee House. They were the last two employees there, with even Albert leaving them an hour early to clean up.

_**That's a horrible idea, Anne. Seriously, you don't know her like I do.**_ Chell stressed the last sentence, drawing several underlines on the sheet before ripping it out and shoving it in her friend's face. The blonde only laughed, pushing it out of the way and smiling cheerfully.

"Chell, no woman can deny shopping or a movie with a hottie like you. I've heard on the streets that a couple of guys have their eyes on you, if this thing doesn't work out. I'm sure it will though, especially with me playing matchmaker." Chell lifted her pad to protest, but Anne held up her hand. "I'm not taking no for an answer. I'll pick you and Glados up tomorrow at noon. Be ready and don't be late." She waved, giggled, and skipped off to her car, blonde curls bouncing as she moved.

She sighed, shaking her head before heading back to her own car, hoping that GLaDOS hadn't completely destroyed her home.

**A P E R T U R E S C I E N C E**

"So _what_ are we doing this afternoon?" Chell groaned at GLaDOS's tone, placing her face in her palms. After her visit to Mrs. Goldi's, she had returned home, ready to tell the android of Anne's plans for the two of them. When she had looked inside her room, however, she had looked to be asleep and so Chell had not bothered. She could find out in the morning, if she was so tired that she fell asleep at only eight.

She hadn't known until that morning that the android was partially malfunctioning due to too many code entries and had shut herself down in order to update her systems. Nothing with GLaDOS was that simple, however, and she had only explained it like that after Chell had given her an extremely blank look. _**Shopping. With my friend Anne. We're going to see a movie, too.**_

"Didn't we just go shopping a few days ago? Why do we need to go again? And really, a movie? They're too overpriced and too foolish to bother with." Again Chell rolled her eyes, causing the android's to flash. "Would you stop doing that! Really, I bet your eyes _will_ just pop out of your head one day, just you wait!"

"Well, at least _I_ understand common sense. Who goes _shopping_ just to walk around? I mean, honestly now."

_**Just shut up and get dressed. She'll be here in an hour to pick us up.**_ She dropped the pad on the table and went back to her room, leaving GLaDOS speechless. What she hadn't seen, however, was the hurt that flared in her single yellow eye. She slowly rose from the couch, toying with her hair as she left to go to her room. There was heat behind her eyes, but she brushed it off, thinking that perhaps her system was only slightly malfunctioning.

She only became concerned when she began leaking water from her eyes. She wasn't going to tell Chell, though. The human had broken her enough times, and she didn't want to give her former test subject the satisfaction of having broken her again. Instead she sniffed, held her head up with pride, and brushed away the water before continuing. She attempted to hold back the leak with sheer willpower, and managed to rather successfully. The only downside was that her eyes were somewhat blurred from the buildup behind them.

Eventually, though, the heat and water faded away, and she shook her head. Good, at least there wouldn't be anymore water flowing freely from her eyes. Humans did that, too, and she had always found it a waste of valuable resources. Perhaps she could use that experiment that she had tried on several test subjects during her early years that stopped tears completely. Then again, there _was_ that downside of potentially combusting. She would just deal with it as it came.

When she emerged from the room, a blonde lady was sitting next to Chell, looking up before grinning widely. "Hi! My name is Anne, nice to meet you! Chell said your name was... Glados, right?" She hoped that her flinch wasn't visible. Why was it that every human had a different way of pronouncing her name? Instead she forced a grin, nodding.

"Hello... Anne." Only Chell seemed to notice her hesitation, and she quirked an eyebrow at her. Anne was completely oblivious, giggling like a small schoolgirl.

"Ohh, we're gonna have _so_ much fun! Albert, get in here! Come on and meet Glados!" Another human, this one more awkward than the first, peaked through the front door before entering. He also had blonde hair and a similiar facial shape, so GLaDOS automatically assumed they were siblings. Or at least related.

Albert seemed a bit taken aback by her appearance, his eyes trained on her glowing yellow one before slowly shifting to her white hair. It was the normal reaction to have, if one wasn't a ditzy blonde or a mute lunatic. "Er... hello, Glados. My name is, um, Albert." He came closer before offering his hand for her to shake. She stared blankly at it for a second before reacting.

There was an awkward silence after that, which Anne broke by giggling. Before GLaDOS could throw a chair at the annoying woman, she hopped off the couch, grinning. "Alright, let's go! Chell, you and Glados will sit in the back, and Albert and I will be in the front. Albert's driving. Let's gooo!" She nearly sprinted out the door, which GLaDOS had to admit was quite impressive, considering she was wearing rather tall heels. Her brother and Chell followed with less enthusiasm, and GLaDOS finally followed after Chell gave her one of her deadly glares.

All she could think was how much time this was going to waste. She had better things to do, really. Like trying to find a way back into her body and getting ATLAS and P-Body back to testing. What she hadn't told Chell was that she had also shut down her orange bot, after feeling guilty about leaving her alone to test. Whatever was in her system that was causing her to think like this... she didn't like it. At all. And it seemed it was _spreading_ to _humans_.

When they were finally packed into Anne's car, the woman began to ask questions. Her first thought was that Anne was some Black Mesa spy that had figured out what she truly was, but Chell seemed to be willing to answer them in her writing. She had carefully brushed off where and when they had first met, only saying that it was in upper Michigan. The answers seemed to satisfy Anne, though in the rearview mirror, she could see that Albert was less than pleased.

"So, Glados, what do you think of Chell?" She was caught off guard when Anne asked her a question instead of her co-worker. The first thing that popped into her mind was the last thing that she had written on Chell's testing file.

"She's a dangerous, mute lunatic, stubborn and unfit for testing." The monotone way she said it made Chell visibly shiver, and Albert twitch. Anne only stared at her before laughing nervously.

"Right, right. I'm sure she's _such _a lunatic! Right, Albert?" She nudged her twin, still nervously giggling. Albert only stared straight at the road, not answering. "Oh, you're being such a sourpuss! Glados, ignore him. He obviously can't take a joke." GLaDOS didn't answer, and so Anne finally shut up. The rest of the ride continued in silence, with Chell looking straight at GLaDOS with confusion. She had literally just _reverted_ right there, losing the human tone that she had been carrying and becoming her AI self again.

As they got out of the car, Chell and Anne went ahead, the blonde breaking her vow of silence and beginning to babble in her co-worker's ear. GLaDOS and Albert stayed behind for a few moments to lock up the car. As the android began towards the mall, Albert grabbed her shoulder and wrenched her around. "I don't know what the hell you are or what you're doing here, but you hurt Chell _or _Anne, I will personally _kill_ you." He released before running to catch up with his sister, leaving GLaDOS in a stunned silence.

**A/N: I feel that I have to address this before more people question me:**

**- Caroline being Chell's mother is a **_**theory**_**. I do not personally believe this theory. The age difference is too much unless Chell was adopted when Caroline was... old =P Plus, Chell is obviously Asian, has a different bone structure, eye color, and eye shape. The only thing that Caroline, Cave, and Chell have in common are hair color and the fact that their names start with the letter 'C'. **

- **GLaDOS not deleting Caroline is also a theory. Again, I personally believe she did delete her. I was on the borderline (and one of my stories actually played with that) before I listened to the developer commentary, which confirmed that she **_**did**_** delete Caroline. I do, however, believe that her influence and potential memories are still around, but Caroline as a being is not.**

**I do not care if you believe either of those theories. I would like to just point out that I do not, and therefore this story will be going off the assumption that both of these are not true. If they turn out to be true by the word of Valve, then you all can laugh at me later, I don't care. It's just... I'm not writing an incest story here, sorry xD;**

**So yeah, with that out of the way, save a turret from redemption! Just write a review (even if it is to try and make me believe in the above theories =P)!**


	6. Rivers

"You know your friend is just as much of a lunatic as you are, right?" Anne and Albert were behind them now, and Chell was browsing through clothing with GLaDOS at her side. The android was looking nervously back at the human male, who would constantly switch his green-eyed gaze between his sister and GLaDOS. Chell only rolled her eyes and motioned that she was being too dramatic. "Look, I know I've lied to you before and I know you have no reason to believe me now, but I think he wants to _murder_ me. _Please_ help me. I don't even have neurotoxin... I might as well be in a _potato_ again!"

_**Albert wouldn't hurt a fly, GLaDOS. He was the one who helped me when you left me in the middle of the wheat field with Companion Cube. Trust me, he's not going to hurt anyone, especially not you.**_ She ripped out the sheet and handed it to the android, causing her to scowl. The panic was completely out of character for her, but she didn't know human emotions. Albert was probably just being protective of his sister, and she had misinterpretted it as a threat.

"Fine, leave me all by myself. It's not like you _murdered_ me or anything." She whipped around after that, smacking the android hard on the cheek. Her gray eyes blazed with anger, and GLaDOS could feel the heat behind her eyes begin to build up again. It took her less than a picosecond to figure out what to do; _run_. The people in the store stared after her before returning to their shopping. Chell kept her eyes trained on where GLaDOS had run, not moving until Anne eased her out of her trace.

**A P E R T U R E S C I E N C E**

The leak had become a river. This time she couldn't stop it either, no matter how much she tried. At least she had made it to the bathroom and managed to hide in the stall before the water poured from her eyes.

Oh, the slap had hurt. Her pain sensors had gone off the charts on that one, definitely. But even after the pain had gone away, she was still _hurting_. Just not physically. It had to be that virus again, that sickening virus that resided in her core. If she didn't know any better, she would have decided that she was _breaking_, and that the human had killed her once again. After a few more moments the river subsided, leaving her sniffing and confused.

Though she had been trying to return to her main body, she had to admit that she had been rather _lazy_ about it. She had found that she had quite enjoyed Chell's silent company a lot more when she wasn't a potato. The human had seemed to also be at least somewhat happy with GLaDOS around, though she couldn't tell her true emotions due to her silence. That slap, however, seemed to mean one thing: _hatred_. It was an understandable feeling, too. GLaDOS had tried to murder her, and in turn she had murdered the AI.

Besides, it was her fault that she was stuck in this body. She had blamed the moron and Chell, sure, but it was _her_ decision to attempt a transfer herself rather than using poor P-Body. GLaDOS still hadn't been sure why the transfer back hadn't been so simple, only that it was password protected. She had tried everything that could have possibly been the password. _Why _hadn't it-

Her train of thought was interrupted by a small cough. "Glados...?" It was Anne, clutching her purse in her hands and looking around shyly. "Are you okay? Chell's sorry about that. The movie will be starting soon, if you want to come. You can sit next to her... She likes you, ya know. Oh, don't tell her I said that. She doesn't want you to know."

The android only stared at her, and Anne took it as a sign to continue speaking. "I know you guys have a complicated history, but you all are really... close. Chell said that you were her only, um, _friend_ before she found us. So maybe you were the reason she didn't know about the Uprising... You were her guardian angel in a way, you know." She tilted her head, allowing her blonde curls to fall to the side. GLaDOS remained silent, processing what she had just been told.

"Anyway, we're going to the movie theater, if you want to come. You can't miss it; just look past the Gordon Freeman statue and take a right at the Vance Memorial. I'm going to leave you alone now, okay? And then... if you want to join us... you can." She left after that, and GLaDOS was alone again. Part of her wondered why the human would have apologized; it was odd for her, considering she had never been sorry _before_.

But if only to satisfy her cheering and warming core, she cleaned up and left the restroom to join them.

**A P E R T U R E S C I E N C E**

As soon as GLaDOS entered the theater lobby, Chell walked over to her. No words were exchanged, obviously, but the test subject had that _look_ in her eyes. The one she had once had after finding out that she had to potentially destroy the Intelligence Dampening Sphere. GLaDOS allowed her face to relax into an easy smile, which was returned by Chell. Anne was still looking worriedly after they broke apart and Chell wandered back towards the ticket both.

"Is everything okay? Neither of you said anything. Well, Chell _never_ speaks, but-" GLaDOS waved at her with a laugh.

"Don't worry, it's been sorted out." Anne's worried face quickly changed to one of elation, making GLaDOS only laugh harder. The blonde was extremely easy to read, and everything hinted at her emotion, from her eyes to her body to the detail of her facial expressions. It made the android wish that Chell was the same about her emotions. The only thing that ever told GLaDOS anything were her eye rolls and occasionally her body language. The latter was still very much hidden when she kept her guard up. Recently, however, it seemed that her barriers were beginning to fall. _I wonder why..._

"Well that's good! I get the feeling that you two fight a lot. I think it's kinda cute, really!" She winked before joining Chell at the ticket counter, leaving GLaDOS confused. What the heck did that mean? Had she been implying something? Human emotions besides terror and misery had never been GLaDOS's strong point in deciphering. Well, there _had_ been Chell's determination, but even that still confused her. They had tested together for the longest time, she had been shoved inside a potato and_ murdered_, yet she still didn't understand the human! Not even Caroline, when she was still around, had let her know anything about such complicated things!

Albert gently prodded her on the arm, making her jump and move away from him. He didn't look too terribly happy, but he also didn't look very hostile. "They've gotten the tickets. We can go in, now." He wasn't happy _at_ _all_. Well, at least she had made _someone_ miserable. It lifted her spirits immensely, even more than they were after Chell had apologized. She wasn't sure why _that_ had made her so happy, but it was better than the broken feeling she had discovered in the bathroom.

It had been the happiest that she had felt since her activation. And she didn't want anything to change that.

**A/N: Alright, I've already said my piece about Caroline and Chell's relationship. Cara Mia doesn't really prove anything in anyone's favor, as it's not GLaDOS or Caroline that's singing it. It's the turret opera, led by the...**

**Wait a minute. **

**OMG.**

**THE FAT TURRET IS CHELL'S MOTHER!**

**No no no, hear me out:**

**- They're both pale, spherical things filled with bullets**

**- Turrets can't have children, so the fat turret had to have adopted Chell**

**- If her mother is a turret, then her father probably is, too. Therefore, she still would have gotten her ingredients from 'daddy's work'.**

**- The fat turret sings Cara Mia, which translates to 'My Daughter' or something similiar in English.**

**- Both have extremely vapid and blank stares**

**Spread this around! We finally found the truth! **

**...And that's all I have to say about the matter =P**

**... *trollface***


	7. Home

The movie had something to do with evil robots taking over the world. GLaDOS found the situation extremely amusing (and scientifically impossible; there was no way those robots could be designed like _that_ and have the capacity to move). Chell slunk back into her chair, occasionally glancing at the android sitting next to her, waiting for her to just turn and start strangling her.

It never happened, to both of their surprise. Though GLaDOS had felt an _itch_ as she watched a robot poison a human with deadly gases (another thing that was impossible considering the way the robots were made, could humans get nothing right?), she had managed to push it back in order to keep her fri- _test subject_ alive. The odd thing about that movie, however, wasn't the horrible design in robots or the terrible special effects, but that the android had never seen it before. When the scientists were feeling particularly brave, they would hack her system and play movies on the Employee Daycare projector and enjoy it for a few minutes before she came back online and attempted to kill them all. Because of this, she had a list of all movies - recent and old - on her hardware, set to automatically update so that the brave scientists didn't have to risk as much when they wanted to watch a bootleg version of some movie that they had been waiting years for.

A quick search through her databases proved to be useful after all; it was one of several movies that the scientists had specifically blocked to make sure that she didn't see them and get _ideas_. Not that it had helped them in the end, but the thought was nice. Wait a minute, perhaps- She stopped walking and entered several of the quotes from the movie into her interface. As she suspected, several of them gave her an error. But two or three took longer to process than the others, and GLaDOS took a few moments to reenter them, thinking that her system was just lagging. That was the thing about her android body - it lagged when she tried to do too much, and she had to wait several seconds before she finally got a result.

_Core Transfer Unlocked. Please proceed to closest Core Transfer Bay and reenter password. _

"Hey, Glados, are you okay?" She blinked as Anne had grabbed her shoulders. Albert and Chell were also staring at her, though the former test subject didn't look as confused as the other two did. "Did the movie make you sick? Here, we can wait for you if you need to go to the restroom..." GLaDOS stepped back, and the concern just grew on Anne's face. Chell got a wierd look for a brief second before easing her face back into a neutral expression.

"I need to go. _Don't_ follow me." She looked directly at Chell when she said that before running off. The faster she could get back to Aperture to transfer herself back into her true body, the faster the heaviness on her system would go away. She would be free to test again, free of ditzy blondes, free of shopping malls, and _finally_ free of _her_. That last thought was brought with an uncommon amount of hesitation, and GLaDOS decided to just blame it on her lagging systems. It couldn't have been anything else because she felt _nothing_ for her murderer. Murderer. Killer. Right, she just needed to keep reminding herself of what Chell had done. It made the aches go away.

She had reached the wheat field within two hours, and she turned on her homing signal. It seemed as if her body began to move itself through the sea of wheat, and she quickly arrived at the little shed from which both she and the _monster_ - no use remembering her name, she would be deleted as soon as she got back in her body, her files destroyed despite her love of protocal - had emerged. The door opened for her and the lift rose to greet her with an excited chirp. An easy smile graced GLaDOS's lips. _Home._

The turret's theater was empty with the exception of one of the escaped turret-cube monstrosities. It squeaked as it saw her riding down into the body of the Enrichment Center, curling back into its cube. GLaDOS decided to just forget that she had seen it. Obviously it was smarter than its companions, which had literally just lined up in front of the emancipation grid before slowly crawling to their deaths.

The ride wasn't a very long one, despite the depth of the facility. The lift seemed to notice her anxiety and began to move faster, reaching her destination with a little hum of happiness. Everything looked to be as she had left it, which pleased her. If she ever got the itch to go outside again - which she highly doubted she ever would - at least she could leave ATLAS in charge. He had accomplished what the moron couldn't; keeping the facility from exploding.

"Boot up cooperative testing initiative bot P-Body." At the sound of her voice the panels began to hum as the lift had, seperating and dropping P-Body's limp form on the ground. Metallic hands sprung from the ceiling of her chamber, dusty from a lack of use and eager to work. They wrenched open P-Body's back panels, entering the code into her before carefully replacing each part they had ripped out and dragging themselves back into the ceiling. A few moments later her orange eye lit up and began to look around before stopping on ATLAS's dangling form. She cooed softly, reaching up to brush her hands on her comatose partner before looking pleadingly at GLaDOS.

It made the android chuckle. "Don't worry, Orange. Blue is fine, just give me a moment." She wrenched on ATLAS's body, making the chamber begin hissing in warning. The core transfer bay sprung up from the floor, GLaDOS's core still attached to it. She had taken care to leave it attached in the event that one of the commands she had programmed into ATLAS went haywire and decided to remove her core. She was thankful that it had not, though she knew that even she couldn't mess with the transfer bay. Or the stalemate button. She would have to get that checked later, once she was back in charge of _her_ facility.

"Begin core transfer?" Ah, that annoyingly happy announcer. He always got on her nerves and she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the fact that he sounded so cheerful even during times of stress. Yes, that was definitely it. "Substitute Core, are you ready to start?"

No answer came from either of the cores, though the announcer read GLaDOS's silence as a 'yes'. She had never been so grateful for those sarcasm self tests. "Stalemate detected. Stalemate Resolution Associate: Please press the Stalemate Resolution Button."

"With pleasure." GLaDOS was quick to press the button, ignoring ATLAS's pained screams as he was ripped from her body. P-Body's miserable wail was much harder to ignore, and she flinched. Why had she activated her before the procedure? And more importantly, why was she feeling so _guilty_ about it? She made a mental note to blame Caroline despite the fact that she no longer existed.

ATLAS was discarded on the side, leaving GLaDOS's main core dangling limply from her body. With nobody holding the facility in check, the power automatically switched to its emergency supply; just enough to get GLaDOS back into her body and get everything running again. She tore off her clothes and ripped open the metal panelling beneath her chest, revealing her yellow core. She plugged herself into the transfer bay, shivering as she entered the password to continue.

"Begin core transfer. Substitute Core, are you ready to start?"

"Yes, yes! Hurry up!" It asked the same question to her core, which again gave no answer. As she felt herself being lowered, she disengaged her body from her inner core, leaving the android husk on the surface. Sensing that the substitute core no longer had a power source, the metal arms plugged her back into her main body. Within a millisecond of regaining consciousness, she rebooted the lights, sent ATLAS to the repair bots, and began to build new test chambers.

P-Body happily embraced her partner as soon as he came back into view, leaving GLaDOS with a pang that reminded her of the things she had felt as an android. Panic filled her systems; had the virus followed her from the humanoid body? A quick scan proved her wrong, leaving her stumped; why was this happening? She took her frustrations out on the two cooperative bots before sending their remains to a random co-op test chamber. They eagerly hopped to their new task, set on pleasing their obviously annoyed creator.

It took building fifty test chambers at a time to make GLaDOS able to forget about the humans she had left behind. She wasn't programmed to have feelings for any of the insects, especially _not_ her former test subject. On one hand, she was elated to finally be rid of her forever. On the other... she _missed_ her and the wildly different things that she had felt when she was around her. As a potato or android, or even in her body, it was different when Chell - Test Subject Name Here, she had to keep reminding herself - was around.

And as if to spite her, the test subject had arrived at the shed with Anne and Albert in tow, back in her long fall boots. Of course she hadn't listened to instructions; she never did. She should just leave her out there until she gives up, is what her first thought was.

Outside, the door opened and the lift was waiting, humming its soft tune.

**A/N: This chapter took off running and left all traces of pacing behind =P **

**I've had this one in mind since I first began writing this story, though. The original idea was to use 2001: A Space Odyssey and to have the password be a quote from HAL, but I decided to leave it as a generic robot takeover movie in order to keep a sense of it being in its own universe.**

**The story isn't over, by the way, even if GLaDOS is in her body again XD; It'll probably be another chapter... or two... or possibly three before it actually ends.**

**Remember when I said this story would only be like five chapters? **_**I lied.**_

**Oh well, enjoy your double update. It'll probably be a couple of days before I update again. Or not, you know. It all just depends on some things. Reviews save that poor, lonely Frankenturret :)**


	8. Author's Note

**A/N: Alright, quick author's note chapter. A recent review and several questions in PMs and other websites has prompted me to write this; the actual chapter eight is coming either tomorrow or Wednesday. Feel free to ignore this, though it may answer some questions that you may have.**

**I was also expecting flames because people dislike GLaDOS/Chell, but that's fine. I got a few, some of which have already been removed due to being absolutely... vulgar. Seriously, if you're going to flame, go ahead. But if you want your comment to stay up, I suggest keeping cursing and other inappropriate things out of it.**

The GLaDOS-Chell Relationship

**Hannyness: Thank you for the critique, first off. I'm glad that my writing skill is passable :)**

**However, a lack of plot is something that doesn't make sense to me. Do slice-of-life stories not count as actual stories due to the fact that their plot is very loose? I never had it in my mind to create a serious story, because it's Portal and over dramatizing it makes it lose what made it awesome; it's funny. I know I am not personally very amusing, but I try to keep to the not-quite serious tone of the games.**

**Chell never had a personality OR a set sexuality (other than the fact that she is stubborn), so I'm not too terribly sure what you mean by 'replacing their personalities'. Chell is, essentially, the player, and we only know her name from the credits of the first game and the easter egg in the second. If you dislike my vision of her, that's fine, but it's not completely incorrect due to the fact that she had no personality to begin with.**

**As for GLaDOS being asexual; she acts just like a human. Artificial Intelligence evolves the more it interacts with the world around them. The mistake that a lot of people make is that she's a robot, which she actually**_** is not**_**. She has never, by anyone from Valve or otherwise, been descibed as a robot in traditional sense. She's a machine, yes, but the fact that she went against her original purpose (to sell shower curtains) proves that she's more than just a robot. If you want to get technical, we never knew Caroline's sexuality, even though a lot of people (including myself) pair her with Cave. Their relationship beyond the work environment was never explored, so it's entirely possible that Caroline could be like Dumbledore; homosexual without anyone actually knowing or caring.**

**They are actually 'friends' by the end of Portal 2, with GLaDOS letting Chell go and even mentioning in **_**Want You Gone**_** (even if it's not exactly canon) that she feels bad about what she did to her. In a time of crisis, a person would head to their closest companion whether or not they were actually 'close'. The scientists are all dead, the co-op bots wouldn't be much help in such a situation, the test subjects probably don't want to help her out, so who did she have left, honestly? **

**I've tried to keep her in character as best I can and if I'm failing at that I apologize. She's a difficult character to write. Besides that, I'm not exactly a comedic genius or a Valve writer, so creating lines for her is harder than it looks. Her relationship with Chell has even been described by Valve as the 'bad girlfriend' who causes more issues than actual helpfulness, and they have the most interaction in both games. Despite the fact that she deleted Caroline (again, if you believe she didn't that's fine), her character still developed in the fact that she allowed Chell to go free when she could have just forced her into more tests.**

**Besides, as a potato, she acts a lot different than when she's in her body. She's a lot kinder and realizes that she's smaller and less powerful than she once was; being in a human body would probably be no different to her.**

**This isn't directed at you alone, there are a lot of people who I've had debate after debate with about GLaDOS's character and her relationship with Chell. I've decided to post this up as a 'chapter' in order to explain my reasoning and maybe even to help other writers who are struggling with their relationship (again, this is something that has been coming up A LOT on deviantart, FFnet, and various other websites). I do not claim to be the all knowing expert on Portal, but I've always appreciated it when authors post up their thoughts and the reason why they write characters the way they do. Feel free to ignore this if you want, but if it helps someone or at least answers some questions, I'm happy.**

**- Hakkari**

**xXxSeihana-chanxXx: Black Mesa, Gordon Freeman, the Combine, etc. all come from Half-Life and Half-Life 2 and its episodes. They're all Valve games, and its universe is where the Portal games are set. They're really, really good, and I fully reccommend them.**


	9. Science is Fun

"I... what is this place?" Anne wasn't expecting an answer from either of her two companions. Albert was just as shocked as she was, and Chell - the only one that seemed somewhat calm - couldn't speak. The lift was going slowly, as it had barely passed the theater within five minutes of the ride. Chell could tell that GLaDOS was just buying time, and the woman wasn't too certain about how much she liked that thought. On one hand, the AI was known to be homicidal, especially when she was in her true body. On the other... she might've just been confused. When she had discovered her true origins, she had reacted the same way.

The lift suddenly jerked to a stop, slamming the three passengers towards its walls. They were nowhere near their destination, and Chell began to panic. She didn't even have her portal gun, this time around. "Didn't I tell you not to come back? Or more recently, not to follow me? You must really, _really_ love to test." A shiver ran down her spine; _that_ was the GLaDOS she had known before their journey through Old Aperture, before their team work against Wheatley. The AI sounded cold and harsh, yet also a little disappointed. A little mechanical hum sounded through the lift.

"Is that Glados? What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" Anne gripped onto Chell's shoulders, her nails digging deep into her pale flesh. The genuine concern in her voice broke the test subject's heart, knowing that she was about to find out GLaDOS's true character. Albert was still silent, his hands curling into fists as he turned towards his sister.

"Don't you get it, Anne? She wants to _kill us_! What the hell else would testing be?" Chell shook her head at his anger, pulling out her pad and writing quickly on it. The lift still hadn't moved, though they could hear metal grinding against metal below them.

_**She's doing it for science, not to kill us. Her tests are... deadly... but they're also possible. **_His eyebrows knitted together, anger flaring in his eyes. _**Look, I've killed her before and helped to disable her, so we should be fine as long as she gives us a portal gun. Which she will, because that's what her tests are for.**_

"How do you-" He was cut off as the lift started moving again, the metal grinding ceasing beneath them. Chell quickly ripped apart the sheet of paper, stuffing it into Albert's pockets before facing forward again. Another little hum came through the lift, though it was more musical and seemed to carry a tune. Anne blinked, then began to hum with it.

"Is she singing? That sounds like that song... The Bear Went Over the Mountain..." The humming ceased as the lift stopped, its doors opening slowly. Instead of the main AI chamber that Chell had been expecting, they were greeted by a test chamber. Next to the door was the Dual Portal Device, sitting proudly on its pedestal and in better condition than the one Chell had picked up in the incenerator room.

"This first test is simple. Just remember, if at first you don't succeed, you fail!" Chell could see the solution as soon as she picked up the portal gun. She was supposed to drop off the small ledge into a portal, fling herself out of the tilted white panel, then re-fling herself out of the same ones for extra momentum. It was simple, but it also posed a problem; the test chamber was obviously designed for a single person, not three.

GLaDOS figured out the same thing a second after Chell did. "Oh dear, you appear to have dragged along people with you. I suppose that's pretty impressive, considering what an _unlikeable_ person you are. Here, they can wait with me in the main room until you finish your tests." The panels beneath Anne and Albert seperated, revealing an Aerial Faith Plate. They were shot to the test exit and into the lift with a scream. "Well, _that_ broke protocol. No matter. Finish this test and I won't even mark how you tried to cheat on your records."

After a few moments of silence, Chell solved the test and stepped into a separate lift. "Not bad. But you do know the reason I'm not marking your cheating on your record is because there's no room left in the negative sections, right? Because writing outside the box would also be considered breaking protocol, and I think we've broken enough rules today, _haven't we_?" The woman knew that the AI was referring to her return rather than her own shortcomings.

Eventually the lift stopped, and the test chamber's sign flickered on. Chamber two of nineteen. She could do this; she could make it through once again. "This next test was designed with fat, adopted murderers in mind. You'll fit right in. Good luck." Well, at least her wish of good luck sounded at least slightly genuine. The little hum of turrets being activated made Chell groan. Of course there had to be turrets. In Aperture, something was _always_ trying to kill her.

Again the test was extremely simple; she just needed to portal to the other side of the room, grab the redirection cube, and aim the laser sitting in the middle of the room towards the two turrets sitting behind a glass wall. They screamed in pain as they exploded, but Chell paid them no mind as she directed the laser at the wall receptacle. "You're a horrible person, you know. What did they ever do to you? I'm just kidding, of course. Murderers murdered by a murderer. How fitting." As she stepped into the lift, GLaDOS came on again.

"You know, you can slow down a bit and _relish_ in the science being done. That's why you came back, right? For the _science_? Or was it for something else?" She was silent for a beat before continuing. "Ah, well, I'll figure it out later. While you're still testing. Maybe after this next test I'll tell you the answer. Or about when I saw the deer."

The lift stopped again, and she stepped out, frowning as she saw the little red beam slowly turning towards her. _"I see you..."_ She jumped back, leaving the little turret confused. _"Could you come over... here, please?"_ GLaDOS only let out a little chuckle. She didn't bother speaking, and if anything it seemed that her laugh coming through the intercom was an accident, as it was hastily cut off. Chell waited another beat for the turret to settle into standby before moving again.

_"There you are..."_ Bullets pierced her skin as she threw a portal beneath her feet and behind the single turret. She flipped it on its side, moving away as it shrieked in pain. She grabbed the cube that had been sitting next to the turret, replaced her floor-portal to be directly above the button, and dropped the cube through the wall portal before moving towards the now-open exit. She gritted her teeth, grabbing at her still-bleeding arm.

"Just a moment. You may feel a slight rush of energy for a second. Don't do anything stupid." Chell felt her body jolt with adrenaline as more was pumped into the room. Her cells began to work on overtime, and her wound - just moments ago bleeding - became scabbed before the energy suddenly fading, leaving Chell panting tiredly.

"You're lucky you're _special_, otherwise I would have let you bleed to death." A confused Chell looked up at the camera on the wall at GLaDOS's words. What had she meant by-? "And by special, I mean that your blood would stain the panels permanently, and I don't have the time or patience to replace them." With a frown the woman stepped into the lift.

"I don't really feel like telling you about the deer anymore. You've probably seen them, now that you've been outside." Chell blinked, GLaDOS's sudden mood swing startling her. She sounded... _sad_, almost as if she was mourning... _her_? The rest of the ride was silent, leaving both human and AI with no distractions from their thoughts.

**A/N: Testing, testing, lalalalalaa~**

**Seriously, only like one or two more chapters, I can hardly wait! 8D**

**Then I'll start on a new project... any suggestions? I've been in a slump recently, so they're much welcome if only to get me writing again.**

**Reviews and suggestions save poor little turrets from monsters like Chell ;-;**


	10. Neurotoxin

"Let me check what this next test is. Oh, advanced Aerial Faith Plates. Well, have fun soaring through the air without a care in the world. I have to go pick up fifteen acres of glass in the wing entirely made of glass. By myself." Chell frowned, both at her words and at the test chamber in front of her. It was the exact same advanced aerial faith plate chamber as before, and her words had been near exactly the same before, as well.

She solved the test easily, taking a moment to check if the old Rat Den was still intact. It was, the radio she had dragged up to the room still humming its song. With a little smile she jumped into a portal and to the exit. GLaDOS returned with a little sigh. "Congratulations. Even under circumstances of déjà vu, you managed to successfully complete the test. Considering you already knew the solution, however, take that congratulations with a grain of salt. Also, you are garbage." Chell found herself rolling her eyes instead of being threatened. GLaDOS seemed a lot less eager to kill her, it seemed.

The lift took Chell deeper than she expected, and when it stopped the doors did not open. "Before we begin the next test chamber, I feel like talking to you outside of standard test practice. Considering that I am not allowed to speak to you while you are testing, I will take this oppertunity. I have the feeling that this will be a very one-sided conversation." Chell pursed her lips as the lift doors opened, leading her into a black paneled room with a single camera. Its red eye was staring directly at her.

"I know you still have your writing pad, so feel free to use that if you have something to say. I can see it through the camera." She waited as the human pulled the pad out of the back of her pants, plucking her marker from her pocket. "Are you ready yet?" Chell nodded, popping open the marker with her mouth.

"Good. Look, I don't know _why_ you're here or what you think you're doing, but I want you _gone_. Did you miss the turret opera sending you on your way? I went to all that trouble to convince the team to give you a nice send-off, but you had to come crawling back. Not only that, but you brought people who had no idea about Aperture with you. Way to go, hero."

_**You took off suddenly. Anne got worried. **_The camera twitched for a second before refocusing.

"So? _You_ didn't have to give into her worrying. You're far too stubborn to give into people like that. I even found your old file. Do you know what it says? _Test subject is abnormally stubborn. She never gives up. Ever. DO NOT TEST._" It took her a second to return her voice to normal, a feminine version of the announcer reading out the file. "See? It's _very_ official. Just like your other file. _Unlikeable. Liked by no one..._ I could go on, but the look on your face tells me you want me to stop."

_**Fine. I was worried, too. **_That actually managed to silence GLaDOS for a good minute, the camera twitching wildly.

"You really do have brain damage." Her voice was soft and tender, and Chell could see the red eye of the camera widening slightly before shrinking again. "Get back in the lift; I'll let you skip a... _few_ tests. Then you can drag your brain damaged self _out_ of _my_ facility." The lift reopened behind her, seemingly humming. She stepped into it, waiting patiently as the lift drove itself deeper and deeper into the facility.

It was several minutes before the lift stopped, and when it opened, Chell was surprised. The cube dispenser had already popped a cube onto the button, leaving the door wide open for her. It was only after the door slammed shut both behind her and in front of her that she began to panic. Green gas began to leak from the walls, and Chell let out a silent wail as she banged on the floor.

"It's nothing personal, really. The easiest way to get you out of my system would be to kill you while you're in a weakened state, since you _rejected_ freedom. Goodbye. I can't say it was nice to meet you, because that would be a lie." The clock on the wall showed six minutes left before the neurotoxin would completely engulf her. The test subject coughed, creating portals on every white panel, hoping that this was just a test that she needed to get through.

Five minutes left before she died. She fought back tears; she had been in this situation before. She just had to stay calm. "You should just give up. I know you won't but there is no solution to this test. Do you want me to bring some turrets out and end you quickly? It would be less painful than the neurotoxin." Apparently her silence counted as a no, for no turrets were dropped by metal hands from the ceiling. Which was a shame, because she could have used them to possibly escape.

Four minutes. "I'm going to be completely honest here and say I didn't _want_ to kill you. Unfortunately, you're the reason I have an _infection_ in my system. I figure if releasing you won't work, then maybe killing you would. Would you stop banging on the panels, by the way? There's no way that you're _not_ going to die this time. There's no moron to free you, no portal surfaces safely out of harm's way... Just give up." Chell ignored her, continuing to quickly bang on each panel, hoping that one would open up and allow her an escape to freedom.

Her eyes were blurred at one minute, and though she dispised giving up, it seemed that there was no way to escape this trap. "So this is all I had to do to kill you? Put you in a room with no doors and release neurotoxin? Interesting... Thank you for the two new test subjects, by the way. They're already in stasis and being outfitted with long fall boots. As soon as you're out of my system, I'll test them and-"

"_Why?_" The neurotoxin let up, allowing Chell to breathe more freely. The sound that had been emitted from her mouth had been quiet and shaky, but GLaDOS had obviously heard it.

"On your file it says 'dangerous, _mute_ lunatic. So I'm going to assume that I did _not_ just hear you speak." Chell stood up, shaking slightly and letting out hacking coughs.

"_Stop... please..._" Another hacking cough, this one complete with blood coming out of her mouth. Her vocal cords hadn't been used since she was a little girl, before she had arrived at Aperture. Chell had forgotten how to speak, until now. "_I... I don't want... to die... yet. You... you would be... sad... too. If I... was dead." _

Her coughing was getting worse the more she spoke, more blood coming out of her mouth. The neurotoxin was still having some sort of effect on her, making her dizzy. This paired with blood loss made her feel faint. "Stop that. _Now_." It seemed that GLaDOS was actually worried about the fact that her upper body was swinging around like she was drunk, her lower body not moving because of her weighted long fall boots.

"_You're not... as bad as... you think you... are. We've always had... some sort... of weird... relation... ship._"

She laughed as the world around her turned black, the last thing she heard was the sound of her in an auto-tuned scream.

**A/N: SHE SPEAKS! :o**

**So much for her being a mute lunatic, GLaDOS .**

**Apparently she's not actually mute in the game, she just doesn't speak because she's defying GLaDOS and Wheatley. Or something. I figured that all that time in stasis + not talking would make her have a hard time speaking, or that she had forgotten how to speak. Traumatic events can actually lead to such things. And I think that almost being killed by a homicidal AI would count as traumatic =P**

**One chapter left! 8D Rid the world of neurotoxin; leave a review :)**


	11. Finale

She could hear singing in her sleep.

The song was familiar, but only barely. As the voice took a sharp crescendo, Chell realized where she had heard the siren song before. After her collapse in Old Aperture she had heard the same tune, the operatic wails quieter then but still the same. It had only stopped after she had risen in time to see GLaDOS being whisked off by a crow.

It made no sense to her, the song. She could tell that it was sad, by the slow and mournful cries, but Chell had never learned Latin or Italian or whatever language was being sung. It was becoming louder as she began to come back to reality, the ability to open her eyes coming back to her. She could wake up at any time now, but she didn't want the beautiful song to end.

Whoever was singing it, however, did. It cut off as her tone lowered into a whimper, revealing the singer as her the homicidal AI. This didn't surprise Chell in the slightest; she had heard the same song when GLaDOS was a potato and the only sentient thing around. She half-expected the AI to kill her now, while she was sleeping. Yet the words that came from the intercom weren't what she was expecting.

"Orange, check the test subject's vitals. Blue, stop standing around being useless. You're nearly as bad as the test subject. Why can't you be more like Orange?" Judging by the little robotic purrs coming from either side of her, Chell guessed that they were used to being insulted and compared like that. The sounds weren't angry like GLaDOS's long-burned Emotion Core, but rather like a little laugh. Her thoughts were confirmed when GLaDOS's voice rang through her ears.

"What's so funny? You know, unlike the test subject, I can keep killing you over and _over_ again. Then I'll put you with the screaming robots and blow you up _again_. And you won't be able to even feel the sweet mercy of death because _you can't die._" She actually sounded anxious, not truly angry. Just annoyed and impatient.

Chell felt her body convulse as one of the bots stabbed her arm. A few seconds later the offending object was removed, and she heard a feminine chirp from her left side. "Excellent, Orange. Fifty collaboration points. Now both of you take the blood sample to the medical ward and test it. Do not return until you have results." Another set of chirps. She could hear them retreating, a door creaking open and then slamming shut.

"I know you can hear me, Chell." The human opened her eyes, staring uneasily at the camera. "I hate you so much. So close to killing you, then you _speak_ and it just made me feel _awful_. See? I'm even admitting all this to you. It's that virus you gave me. I hate you."

"_I didn't do anything... to you..._" She blinked, surprised at how clear her voice sounded. GLaDOS only chuckled at her reaction.

"Oh, I took the time you were passed out to fix up your vocal chords. I wouldn't strain them too much, though. I prefer killing over healing. Now, what were you saying?" She sat up, facing the camera head on.

"_I. Didn't. Infect. You. With. Anything._ _Whatever's wrong with you is in your own head._" The AI gave an exasperated sigh.

"I liked it better when you didn't talk. And it's inside my head, I already know _that_. But it didn't start until I was living with you." A sense of dread and curiosity filled Chell. She had a feeling that what GLaDOS was 'infected' with wasn't actually an infection. It was something that _couldn't _be. Couldn't, wouldn't work out.

"_Well, how does it feel?_" It took a moment for the AI to answer. Chell already knew that she had all the answers, but the hesitation was that of reluctance.

"It... depends. Sometimes it felt really, really good. _Warm_. Other times... it felt like you _killed_ me. Again. Monster." The last insult wasn't delivered with as much enthusiasm as it once would have been, and Chell felt the hole in her heart deepen. She had confused the AI with her sudden moodswings; her happiness would sour into anger quickly when GLaDOS had been around.

When she had slapped her in the mall for what probably seemed to the AI as no reason, she had _broken_ her. Anne's description of the tears running down her face seemed to be all the more real. She had thought that her friend was exaggerating; GLaDOS didn't show emotions like that. She _had_ no heart. Oh, how wrong she was. Even now, as a machine rather than some sort of humanoid, her confusion and broken heart were apparent. If only she had paid attention before, in the test chambers. The humming, the dullness in her voice when she refused to describe the deer, the singing...

"_It's called love._" The AI began cackling, her laughter uneasy but still disbelieving. Chell frowned at the camera, and the laughter suddenly stopped.

"Oh. You were _serious_. You do have brain damage, really. And I thought it was bad when you actually went back to the pit that the moron had set up for you..."

_"He promised me a pony farm! And it's not like I jumped down there..."_ She cringed at GLaDOS's renewed laugh.

"If I hadn't been there, you would have!" Chell felt a small grin playing on her face, her lips spreading and revealing her teeth as she too began to laugh. "There you go; you don't do that often enough, you know. It's better than the straight face you always have." A small shiver ran down the woman's spine, though it wasn't an unpleasant one. The AI had basically just called her pretty - or at least better than a fat orphan with unfortunate bone structure.

"_Thanks, I guess._" The AI suddenly stopped laughing.

"That wasn't... that much of a compliment. Really." Chell rolled her eyes, knowing otherwise. She stepped out of the bed, panicking when she realized her long fall boots weren't on. "Get back on the Aperture Medical Transfer Unit _now_. You aren't ready to be wandering around the facility." She sounded actually worried for once, not taunting as she usually did. The cooperative bots returned, the orange one holding a sheet of paper with results on it. She let out a delighted squeak at seeing the woman out of bed. Chell smiled at her.

"_I want to come down and see you._" When the AI didn't answer, Chell stressed her desire. "_Please!_" A sigh came from the intercom, and she could almost hear the AI thinking.

"Fine. Orange, Blue, accompany the test subject. _Do not _let her out of your sights; she's still recovering." Just as Chell opened her mouth to protest, the bots grabbed her arms and forced her to the ground. While Orange held her down, Blue waddled over to her bed side and grabbed her boots, forcing them onto her feet. "Don't worry, Chell. You're in capable hands. Their brains were taken from a calculator, so at least you have basic addition and subtraction on your side." Chell sighed. The AI wasn't allowing her out unescorted. She was partially grateful for that; at least it showed she cared _a little_.

The trip down to the main chamber was a quiet one. The bots were happily interacting with each other, Blue glomping Orange and Orange responding by taking his head and dangling it over his body. Despite this, they seemed to be very close, if their happy robotic hums were anything to judge by. They seemed to be taking their time, and when Chell expressed this to them they seemed to move a little faster, though they would gurgle with annoyance whenever she said this to them.

When they finally reached the hall leading to the main AI chamber, the two bots shoved her forward, looking warily at the emancipation grill in front of them. "_Oh... does that hurt you?_" It seemed that it would be a rather silly design choice on GLaDOS's part, considering they tested the portal gun. They shook their bodies in response, motioning towards where GLaDOS's body was dangling. She didn't seem to be paying attention to them, her core facing the opposite direction towards a screen showing the progress of a test chamber she was building.

Again the bots shoved her forward, panicking slightly. "Didn't I tell you to escort her, not try and break her again. Idiots." They erupted, and Chell jumped through the grill with a scream. "Relax, they're fine. They're _always_ fine." She sounded rather unhappy about that part, but Chell decided she was reading too much into it. There was no way she'd want her precious bots to die permanently, right?

"You can come closer, you know. I'm not going to hurt you. This time, at least." She stepped forward confidently, deciding that GLaDOS wouldn't bring her all this way just to kill her. Her body swiveled towards the human, eye flickering slightly. To her side was her android body, a small section below her breasts open and empty. Chell flushed as she realized that the body was naked, quickly taking her eyes away from it.

Two seconds later, the two cooperative bots appeared on the screen behind GLaDOS, chirping happily and waving at the camera. The AI sighed. "I'll ignore that, for now. Remember the two humans I _just_ told you to place in storage? Retrieve them and ship them to the surface. Give them the special liquid first, though." They ran off, happy to follow their mistress's orders.

_"Special... liquid? What are you giving to Anne and Albert?_" She must have looked extremely worried, because GLaDOS only chuckled agian.

"It's nothing to worry about, really. Just protocal, since they weren't tested. It's the Memory Replacement Energy Drink. It'll replace or erase specific memories. It was supposed to be used in shower curtain production, but they didn't have it perfected by the time Cave Johnson died. A shame, really." Chell could think of about a million other things that a memory erasing substance could do, but she decided to drop it and address GLaDOS about her problem.

_"As I said before, you're in love. With me._" Something between a disgusted grunt and a musical hum came from her system.

"That's incorrect. I am most definitely _not_ feeling such a human emotion. In fact I-" She was cut off as Chell placed a kiss the side of her core, her hands gently caressing the metal. A purr escaped her system, but she was quick to surpress it, forcing it to the inside of her system rather than out.

A lift up behind Chell, and she climbed inside, flushing slightly. "Just go." As the lift began to rise, Chell tapped on the glass, alerting GLaDOS to stop it so she could speak.

_"I'll come visit you sometimes, eh?_" The AI let out an exasperated sigh.

"No you won't. Just. Go." Chell frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"_Well, fine, then you're going to have to come visit me. You know where I live. You can stop by, if you want. I won't kill you, I promise._"

"I'm still not sure if I can trust your word on that, but we'll see. Go, your _friends _are waiting." Before Chell could speak again, the lift doors slammed shut, taking her back to the surface. GLaDOS watched her screens, seeing Chell clamor out of the shed to the confused twins. She could vaguely hear Anne babble on about their arrival at the wheat field, and Albert claim they were abducted by the Combine. Her former test subject only shrugged, turning back towards the camera and staring at it.

_"Come on, Chell, let's go home. This... is a little bit weird._" Chell nodded, motioning to them to go on ahead of her. They shrugged, beginning their trek through the wheat as the test subject continued to stare at the camera. She smiled, flashing a little heart made from her hands towards it before running off behind them.

A few beats after Chell finally disappeared from the frame, GLaDOS returned her attention to the bots. They were lounging in one of the older test chambers, leaning against one another affectionately. "Alright, you two. Back to testing, come on." They hopped up, refocusing their efforts on solving the test chamber in front of them. With that out of the way... GLaDOS turned back towards her android body. It was still sitting there, limp and lifeless.

Perhaps... Perhaps she _would_ take up the test subject's offer and visit her. _For science_, of course.

**A/N: Finally done! I apologize if the ending seems rushed and/or not ChellDOS-y enough. I've never been one to shove relationships in a person's face. It would definitely take time for such an odd pair to get together to the point where more emotions are shown, but at least now they can tell that the feelings are mutual.**

**I wanted to get this out of the way because I'm participating in NaNoWriMo Summer Camp. It's NaNoWriMo, except it's in July and August. So yeah, fanfiction will probably be on the back burner, though if inspiration does strike I'll probably write something else up. No more ten chapter epics for a while, though. Probably just a bunch of one-shots.**

**Also, never doing anything involving GLaDOS or Wheatley becoming human/something similiar ever again. I hated the entire idea about five chapters in and was beating myself up over it. So yeah. **

**So I hope you all enjoyed it, at least. If you have ideas of what you want me to write, feel free to PM me or leave a review or something. I don't bite.**

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**


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